Plasmids can be good cloning vectors because they carry an origin of replication and are therefore able to replicate independently within a cell.
Most plasmids used as vectors also encode some type of selectable marker suchas the gene for resistance to ampicillin.
If the host cells are ampicillln sensitive,the only host cells that can grow on a medium containing ampicillln are those that have taken up the plasmid.
Vectors must also have a small sequence of base pairs that can be recognized by a restriction enzyme. When this enzyme opens the circular plasmid.foneign DNA can be incorporated.
When the plasmid vector and foreign DNA are both cut with the same restriction enzyme and mixed together, not all molecules will join to fonn recombinants.
Some vector molecules will reanneal without incorporating foreign DNA. To identify cells that contain plasmids that have incorporated foreign DNA, a second marker gene is needed on the vector.
This second mari